Black and White
by Redemtion13
Summary: Black and White. The two basic colors that made up the essence of her dull life. The two colors that she had come to accept as all she would ever use to see the world. But in an instant her world can change. In a blink of a stranger's red eye something new can light up her world, because this world is not all black and white. AU SoMa
1. Black

Please Enjoy.

Requested by IlliaLife

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**Prologue**

It was the same routine every day.

The alarm would go off bright and early at four o'clock. Maka would hit the snooze and sleep for an extra fifteen minutes before finally pushing herself up with a small groan while blindly searching for Blair's head to give a small scratch. The cat would purr for a moment before batting her master's hand away and getting up with a long stretch and a loud meow. Then it was out of bed and into the shower. Her place didn't have the best of water heaters but after a few minutes in the frigid morning air the water would finally grow warm enough for her to slip into. A few minutes in the steaming water and she would cut the stream and step out after what never seemed like enough time. A quick towel off followed by an investigation of her drab appearance in the mirror would be capped off with her hair being put up in pigtails, unless it was a weekend of course.

But most days were not weekends. Most days were weekdays and required her to work so then it would be time to get dressed in her Deathbucks barista uniform. Once content with her appearance it would be out the door with just enough time to grab a piece of fruit that had been bought the weekend before from the local farmers market. An apple, orange, or banana being the usual go to though sometimes, if she was feeling particularly daring, it would be a slice of watermelon.

All in all it was pretty tame… well lame would be more like it. It was lame and it was routine and it was boring beyond all belief. It was a life that was devoid of excitement and surprise, but there was something to the monotony she liked. There was something so familiar about it that she couldn't bring herself to break it. Yes the life was black and white, but it was the life she knew and she wanted. Or at least that was what she told herself whenever thoughts of doubt bubbled their way to the surface of her mind.

It was safe and it was familiar. It was important to keep things simple. Complications only lead to heartbreak and trouble. This was how she liked her life and she had no plans to change.

Which was what made this particular day so much different.

Maka got up at the same time. She went through the same morning routine and walked the same route to her job. But today, for the first time in her entire life, Maka saw a color.

And that color was red.

xXxXx

"ORDER UP!" Black*Star bellowed, shaking a large uncovered coffee in one hand and sending flecks of the black liquid raining down around them. With a sigh Maka wiped away the mess from the previously clean counters, watching the white cloth in her hand slowly turn grey. Pushing the rag into her apron she turned to the next customer with an apologetic look on her face.

"Sorry Professor Stein." She pushed one of her pigtails back as the bespectacled man only nodded.

"You know you kids don't have to call me professor anymore, you graduated last year." He handed over a single bill of cash, not bothering to voice his order. It was the same thing every day. The man was as predictable as the tides, down to the cigarette he had clenched between his teeth though he knew not to light them inside the building.

Maka accepted the money before running an eye up and down his white, strangely stitched lab coat. Somehow it would simply be strange to be so informal with the man who had taught her so much over the years, and the coat didn't help much either. She threw him a smile before calling back to Black*Star. "One Regular for the professor."

"One Spooky for the old guy, got it!" Black*Star yelled back as Stein only smiled and moved down to speak to Black*Star. Shaking her head as the two began to argue, likely at the prompting of the supposedly blue haired barista. Voice loud enough to wake the dead, Maka almost missed the next order.

"Large coffee, black."

"Large coffee, black." She repeated, entering the order into the register before looking and nearly recoiling back. The face that met her was young and handsome with a messy head of what she would guess was extremely blonde or was prematurely grey hair, but that in itself wasn't very notable as Black*Star himself had a wild hairstyle that few could challenge. A bored look adorned the customer's smarmy face but that wasn't what caused her distress either. What really stood out about him, what was causing her to gape stupidly at him, were his eyes. His bright, shining, eyes.

They were…

They were...

She had no idea what they were actually. They weren't the black or white, or any shade of grey in-between she had ever seen before. They stood out like two twinkling diamonds, bright enough to rival any diamond she had ever seen. They were glorious in their brilliance, even though they were laced with a lazy uninterested look. They were…they were…

"Beautiful."

"Excuse me?"

"What?" Maka stammered before realizing she had spoken aloud. She felt her cheeks grow unbearably hot as he continued to stare at her, eyes taking on the vestiges of interest. "I… I'm sorry. One black coffee? Right?"

"Yes." He replied, giving her a sideways look before handing over his credit card. With numb fingers she slid his card down the side of the register, missing on her first two attempts as she fought to look away from his eyes. Returning the plastic to him he declined a receipt before edging down towards Black*Star, not bothering to look at her again as he did so. Undeterred Maka's gaze followed after him, her hands almost shaking too badly to work the register. Completely ignoring the next customer she continued to stare at the boy. She was no longer able to see his face, but she could still vividly picture those eyes.

"Excuse me?"

She couldn't describe it. It was simply intoxicating.

"Excuse me!"

It was so different than anything she had ever seen. It was a completely new color. She knew they had existed, but she never believed she would really see them. They had told her it would never happen. It just wasn't possible.

"YOUNG LADY?"

Maka snapped her head around as her next customer glowered at her. "Oh, sorry."

"You can stare at boys on your own time missy." The woman snapped, holding out a credit card. "Give me a large cookie and an Earl Grey, large. You young girls and your promiscuous hormones… in my time we didn't… "

Maka nodded politely as she tuned out the woman, placing the order quickly as her suddenly stupid fingers would let her. Tearing the receipt from the machine she looked up again just in time to see a shaggy white head of hair slowly exit the front door and enter the teeming city streets. For a moment she started, ready to bolt after him but the line was still waiting. She threw a glance back at Black*Star who had managed to cover the majority of his body and a good portion of the floor with thick white foam. The muscled moron was causing a mess without even trying. If she left the store under his supervision alone… she shuddered to think about what would happen. She could already smell the smoke and hear the sirens. But… but she had to know. What if… she didn't know what if, but she had never seen anything like that in her life. It was so vibrant, so alive.

Teetering back and forth for a moment she let out a sigh, settled back down, and took the next order with a frown, barely able to hear the order as she punched it in. She was probably tired. There hadn't been any color. It had been her imagination. She knew every eye color, blue, brown, green and all those shades in-between. If what she had seen had been any one of those she would have been able to see that color all through this store and through the street beyond. But she couldn't. She only saw blacks and whites and every shade of grey possible.

Her life was black and white. And it always would be.

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Hope you enjoyed, please review.

Wrote another novel. You can read it at FictionPress. Same username.


	2. White

Please Enjoy.

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The week seemed to drag on endlessly and her job became more tedious than normal. Out loud she would credit the painful monotony as simply a rough patch but in her own secret thoughts she knew what was truly bothering her.

It was that boy.

It was that stupid… whatever colored eyed, strange haired snarky looking boy. She couldn't stop thinking about him. Every single time the door opened without fail she would look up hopefully only to have those hopes dashed as another normal customer walked in. She had tried to tell herself to stop thinking about it, that it was truly just something her mind made up, but it didn't work. She spent hours on the Internet googling eyes and begging, just begging that one would look different. But it was a futile attempt. Just black and white stared back at her, almost mockingly.

She knew she should give up. All she was doing was setting herself up for a bigger disappointment. But something in her wouldn't stop. She was almost at her breaking point and that meant it was time to get help. It was time to talk to the only other person she knew who might have seen him. In hindsight it might have been smarter to ask him the day of the event instead of waiting for a few days. Black*Star wasn't exactly known for his amazing memory.

"Hey Black*Star?" Maka called softly as the last customer drifted out and the coffee house became blissfully quiet for a few minutes.

"Wassup?" he called back, wiping up some of the mess he had made, but not doing a fantastic job. He licked the back of his hand, cleaning it of foam and caramel. Maka made a face but didn't comment as he almost immediately went to wash his hands after. Messy as he may be Black*Star was still…sanitary. Mostly.

"Do you remember seeing anyone weird this week?" She asked vaguely, turning her head to look at the busy streets outside the window.

"Weird how?"

"I dunno, just weird." Maka said noncommittally, though she felt her heart begin to speed slightly as Black*Star made a thinking noise.

"Weeeeeeeeeell." He tapped is finger against his chin. "There was that one person."

Maka's eyes turned back to the muscled teen. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Black*Star nodded. "Caught me off guard. Almost said something on accident."

"What was it?" Maka's voice dropped to a near whisper.

"They…" Black*Star looked around dramatically "They had…a dog hidden in their purse."

". . ."

"I know right." Back*Star shook his head. "I mean who shoves a poor dog into a purse like that. Thing couldn't even get it's head up without her pushing it back down. I was like "Hey, I know your dog is in there. If you're going to do that just get one of those purses made for dogs." Crazy Lady."

Maka forced a smile and nodded. "That was nice of you not to make a scene I guess, though you know we don't allow dogs."

"Don't worry." Black*Star flexed his muscles. "I let her know what's up. She won't be bringing her dog in here anymore. I made sure of it."

"That's nice." Maka sighed, closing her eyes for a moment before letting out a small groan as the door opened with a telling jingle. Pushing herself back open she flicked open her eyes and stared at the register dejectedly.

"May I take your order, please?" She asked quietly.

"Coffee. Black."

She nodded, punching in the order and finally looking up. A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. It was him. It was him. Dressed in a dark jacket with equally dark pants and a thin scarf wrapped around his neck to protect from the blistering wind outside. His bright eyes stared at her as one eyebrow slowly raised up.

"Sure." She nodded a little too quickly, pigtails flopping back and forth before she took his credit card. Sliding the plastic down she quickly held it back to him. Large cold fingers lightly pressed against hers as he accepted the card and slipped it back into his wallet.

"Thanks." He said with a dull nod of his head and moved down the line to Black*Star. Maka's eyes followed him. Even as he moved further and further away his eyes shone true. It was so deep and vivid. A painful contrast to everything else around them. Swallowing down her fear she opened her mouth to call out to him when Black*Star loudly announced his coffee was done. Taking the steaming cup the stranger nodded to him and began to shuffle out. Maka watched him go with growing apprehension.

She had to say something. She had to say something now.

"Uhgbluh."

It wasn't exactly eloquent, as Black*Star would later tell her with a cackle but it was sufficient to getting him to stop. Hand still resting on the door he slowly turned his head to look at her, his thick, shaggy hair rustling haphazardly. "I'm sorry?"

"I uh…" Maka shot a quick glance to Black*Star who was staring at her like she was an idiot which wasn't helping. A blush began to form on her cheeks as she lamely mumbled out. "Have a nice day."

He stared at her for a moment longer with those unique eyes of his before dipping his head. "You too, pigtails."

"Pigtails…" Maka repeated dumbly before gritting her teeth. "Hey my name is Maka!" But the door had already swung shut and once again he was gone into the streets and she still didn't know anything about him.

"Smooth Maka." Black*Star said as he let out a howl of laughter. "Ughbluh!"

"Shut up." Maka threw her towel at him. "I just had a brain freeze."

"Sure you did." Black*Star let off another fit of laughter, his head cocked back in amusement. "Weird guy though, huh?"

Yeah…" Maka sighed, turning back to the register before freezing. "Wait, what do YOU mean weird?"

"His eyes."

Maka appeared in front of him, freakishly fast. He nearly flinched as she grabbed the front of his apron and began to shake him. "What! What about his eyes!"

"Woah!" Black*Star slipped free of her grasp. "They were red. You don't really see that very…ever."

Maka slumped back against the wall as a dreamy expression washed over her face. "Red?"

"Red." Black*Star confirmed. He reached out and grabbed one of the syrup dispensers. "Red. Maybe a bit darker than this."

Maka took the colored liquid, but she only saw a dark shade of grey. Confused she looked back up at Black*Star who was watching her with a slight interest. She shook her head, handing it back to him. "Still grey."

He frowned. "But that guy?"

Maka swallowed hard as she turned her head back to far the door he had only minutes ago walked through. "Red. I saw red. I know I did."

Black*Star heard the sadness in her voice and reached out and put a hand on his oldest friends shoulder. Squeezing gently for a moment he let her go and continued cleaning the shop up as Maka returned to the register to wait for the next customer.

xXxXx

It was back to google. This time armed with new information. Fingers clattering over the keys she searched through every shade of red she could find. Some were so pale they looked white and others so dark she could have sworn they were just black. But in-between those two shades the colors stayed true. The vivid color she now knew as red was nowhere to be found.

Frowning she sat back before reaching up and undoing her pigtails as she stared at the Internet homepage. Running a hand through her ashy blonde locks she started again, fingers slowly tapping against the keys.

'Red eyes'

The results were cluttered with products to help dry and itchy eyes, or places to buy contacts for those who wished to make their eyes look red for some reason she couldn't fathom.

She returned to the search bar.

'People with red eyes."

Again she was assaulted with useless information, now the majority of it having to do with how to fix a photograph with redness caused by a flash. Letting out a growl she clicked the search bar again, erasing her previous entry and rubbing her knuckle against her forehead.

Dropping her hands back to the keys she twisted her mouth around, trying to find the right wording. Shaking her head she finally just typed down the simplest things she could manage.

"God damnit who is he?"

Pressing her hand against the enter key, she turned her head away from the computer as she heard the front door of her apartment open. Pushing her chair out she let out a little groan as she stretched and stood up. Leaving her room she entered the small living room to find her roommates had returned with groceries.

"Hey Maka!" Patti grinned from ear to ear and waving at her with exaggerated movements.

"Hey." Maka smiled, flicking her eyes to Patti's sister Liz, who was putting down the bulk of the bags. "It's my turn to go shopping you know."

"Ah don't worry about it." Liz waved her hand. "I've had some extra cash on me since Kidd gave me n Patti a raise last month."

"Rollin in the dough." Patti laughed as she tossed herself onto the couch. "I make it rain on these bitches!"

The two older blondes ignored her as Maka frowned. "That's not really fair though."

Liz shrugged. "I haven't even eaten here for the past week, so anything you've made for me has been going to waste and I know Patti has been eating more than her share so it's salright. Don't worry about it."

Maka's frown persisted but she relented as Liz's lips turned up into a grin. "It's going really well with him, by the way."

The frown disappeared almost instantly and Maka winced internally. She had been so caught up with the red-eyed bastard she had completely forgot Liz had started dating someone. Running a quick scan through her brain she picked out every blurry memory of Liz's gushing. The name eluded her but she got the gist of it.

Handsome - Check

Smart – Check

Talent – Check

Rich – Check

"That's great. I'm really glad." Maka smiled though she wasn't exactly sure what else to say. Liz had had many boyfriends since Maka had known her, though most of them didn't last the week and were never mentioned again. This however seemed slightly different, and Maka was grateful for that. Though she would never say it, most of Liz's boy friends tended to be… idiots. She wanted to cringe thinking of the last boy she had brought home, Noah. The one who had offered her a chance not only a chance to be in his creepy 'book' but to go on a date with his friend Gopher. Though to be fair Gopher hadn't seemed too thrilled about that idea either, though he seemed even more agitated by Liz's presence than hers.

"I think you would really like him." Liz sighed; sitting down at the kitchen table and opening the laptop she had left sitting there. "He's really smart, and more famous than I thought. The other night we got stopped like twenty times by people who wanted a picture or an autograph.

"Famous?" Maka asked, curious as she took a seat across from Liz.

"Yeah, he's in this band thing with his brother. Well, not a band really. He told me what it was but I can't remember the word. He plays the violin. Here see?" She turned the computer around and showed Maka a photo of a sharply dressed man with a violin pressed against his neck, his face slightly obscured by the violin bow and a head of messy hair. Maka tilted her head slightly as she stared at him. He looked extremely familiar, but she just couldn't quite place it.

"Cute huh?"

"He's very handsome." Maka nodded, still staring at the picture. "How did you meet?"

"He came down to the store." Liz turned the computer back towards her. "Wanted to look at some of Kidd's pianos."

"I thought you said he played the violin?" Maka said.

"Wes does." Liz tapped a few keys on the computer. "But his brother plays the piano. He was thinking about surprising him with a new one for when their tour ends."

"Wes." Maka repeated, sure to memorize the name this time. "What kind of music do they play?"

"It's kind of a mix of classical with modern feel to it?" Liz said with a wave of her hand. "I dunno, but it's really cool. Even you would like it."

Maka scowled at her. "My music isn't that bad."

"Uh huh." Liz responded as she turned the computer around again. "This is his little brother."

Maka flicked her eyes down and froze. Leaning forward her eyebrows rose as she stared into the bored eyes of the younger brother. Eyes that she noted, with a twinge of disappointment, were a dark grey. Opening her suddenly dry mouth slightly she looked up at Liz.

"What's his name?" She didn't mean for her voice to sound so desperate but she couldn't help it. Liz raised an eyebrow at her tone but didn't press the issue.

"Soul. Soul Evans."

"Soul." Maka mouthed before darting out of the kitchen and back into her room, not hearing Liz call after her. Diving to her computer she flashed across the keys.

"Soul Evans."

Slamming down on the enter key she watched as article after article popped up about the talented Evans brothers who were taking the musical world by storm.

The elder brother Wes, affectionately known to his fans as the blue-eyed angel.

And, much more importantly

The younger brother, Soul. The red-eyed demon.

She found him.

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As always I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review.


	3. Red

Please Enjoy.

* * *

Maka grasp the ticket tightly in her hand, wary of every one around her in the ever-lengthening line. The damn thing had cost almost twice what she had expected and that wasn't even including the backstage pass she had ended up buying. A pass that would allow her a quick face to face with him. Soul. The red-eyed demon. She had to admit, after quite a few hours worth of Internet stalking, the name did seem fitting. A sudden gust of wind ruffled through the crowd, nearly pulling the ticket from her hand cold fingers. Letting out a gasp she pulled her hands back into her chest, eyes wide as a slight flush of embarrassment over the ridiculous overreaction colored her cheeks. She took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves even as her stomach twisted around nervously again and again. In her head she tried to run over the speech she had prepared for him but suddenly it sounded so very childish and just a little bit crazy. Really. But what was she supposed to say?

"Oh hi, we've never really met. Well we kind of have. You came to my shop and ordered coffee a few times, remember? That doesn't matter though. You see I can't see colors, but I can see your eyes. They are beautiful and…"

Yeah. That wasn't going to come off crazy at all. She would be lucky if he only laughed in her face and DIDN'T have security throw her out.

She shook her head as the line sluggishly began to move and she was ushered into the concert hall.

xXx

It was a big hall. Bigger than she had expected. As she found her way towards her seat, located near the back as they had been the cheapest, she began to note, with some dread, that her choice of dress was not exactly fitting to the people around her. While her modest black and white skirt and blouse had seemed quiet nice in her apartment, she suddenly felt horribly underdressed as the people around her seemed to have donned fine dresses and suits. Sinking lower into her seat she was extremely grateful as the lights began to dim and the stage was illuminated. Curiosity drawing her from her shameful position she leaned forward as a single man with pale, messy hair stepped out with a violin held lightly in one hand and a bow in the other. Giving the crowd an easy smile he bowed his head before flipping up the bow. Maka could hear polite clapping followed by loud screams from some of the more wild members of the audience located in the front as he flipped the violin up to his neck and began to play a quick, upbeat melody.

The song was light and happy and infectious. Without noticing it a smile crept onto Maka's face as she watched the lone Violinist continue, his fingers a blur across the instruments neck. She was so engrossed with his playing that she didn't notice it at first. It was quiet. Like rain falling onto a pane of class. Then suddenly, and with great gusto it joined in as a curtain on the left side of the stage was lifted and a piano player was revealed. It was him. Even from here she could see them, those red eyes burning like hot coals. The twinkling lights in the sea of monotony.

Soul's playing was nothing like his brother, the violinist. Even with her admittedly limited knowledge of music she could feel the difference. While Wes' melody had been like a cloud dancing lightly in the wind, the piano came hard like a thunderstorm. It was brutal and raw His hands crashed against the keys as a look of pure concentration marched across his face. On stage the violinist continued to grin, playing his own song as the two weaved together. It was hypnotic to listen to. It wasn't a fight between the two melodies; it was more like a complicated dance where neither partner was willing to surrender the lead. It wasn't until they reached the climax of the peace that Maka realized she had somehow moved up to the edge of her seat, hands tightly grasping the armrest. Blushing slightly she relaxed as the song came to a close. On stage the violinist dropped his bow arm down for a moment before turning to his brother and grinning. Soul did not return the grin, only scowling deeply as a girl somewhere in the front row screamed out his name. Undaunted by his brother's attitude Wes simply let out a laugh that echoed through the hall before lifting his arm up. On the right side the curtain rose revealing the rest of the symphony as Wes began to play again, now joined by the others.

Settling into her seat Maka felt herself relax as the music washed over her, though she never took her eyes off that red-eyed demon. As she watched him practically attack his instrument with what seemed to be hate filled passion she could only think yet again how fitting of a name that seemed to be.

xXx

Maka was honestly surprised with how calm she felt as she followed the directions printed on her ticket to the meet and greet room. The concert had been amazing. Wes, true to his angelic name, had been wonderful. He seemed to thrive on personal interaction, constantly talking between pieces or simply smiling for a picture. The man was practically made of smiles. It wasn't hard to see why Liz was so enamored with him. Soul however… well Soul hadn't looked happy the entire concert. His emotions had seemingly swayed from bored out of his mind, to cursing the world and everyone in it.

Turning down another corner Maka let out a squeak as she almost plowed through a pretty young Japanese women. She jumped back, already stammering an apology.

"Oh it's alright." The woman smiled. "Are you one of our VIP's?"

"Uh, yeah." Maka nodded, pulling up her ticket for the woman to see.

"Okay Ms…."

"Maka." She supplied.

"Tsubaki, very nice to meet you." Tsubaki gave her another smile. "Alright Miss Maka! If you would please follow me then?" without waiting for an answer she turned around and began to walk. Winding through hallway after hallway they finally came to an open room where two small tables had been set up and a group of people were already waiting. Falling into her place in the line she was again felt a slight heat flash across her cheeks as she looked at the clothing of the other patrons.

Most of them were young women around her age and apparently had not been given the memo about the dress code. Short skirts and low cut tops made up the majority of the crowd though she did note, with some gratitude, that at least a handful of the girls were dressed similar to her or better. She snapped her head up as suddenly a buzz went through the crowd and Wes entered into the room. Smiling widely at them he gave a cheery wave before sitting down at his designated table. After a few moments Soul followed, though he had long since removed his jacket and his tie hung loosely around his neck. Unlike his brother he did not smile, instead casting a gloomy eye over the crowd before letting out a sigh and sitting down.

The calm Maka had felt not minutes ago was suddenly shattered as the line began to move forward. In her mind she tried to find some part of her well rehearsed speech but it was nowhere to be found. Suddenly the line seemed much, much shorter than she remembered as each VIP was ushered through for their moment with the two musicians. In what felt like seconds she found herself in front of Wes, his eyes twinkling up at her from his seated position.

"Hello."

"Uh, hi." Maka ventured weakly as he continued to smile warmly at her. Not wanting to seem like a complete fool Maka forced her mouth to work.

"I'm Liz's friend, Maka. You were amazing."

"Oh Maka!" His eyes lit up as he held out his hand and gave hers a gentle shake. "Yes Liz told me about you. I'm so glad you were able to come to one of our shows. I wish you would have told me though, I would have gotten you in for free."

"Oh…" Maka was thrown by his enthusiasm. "That's okay. I don't mind, really."

"Ah well next time." Wes waved his hand. "But really, anytime you want to come just have Liz tell me, it's always my pleasure."

"Thank you." Maka mumbled as she realized she had likely already spent more time with Wes than she was supposed to. "I uh, should probably…"

"Oh right!" Wes shook his head as though their short conversation had been so riveting he had forgotten where he was. "Well it was a pleasure to meet you Maka. I'm sure I will see you again. Be sure to tell Liz I said-" he blew her a kiss "-and I'm looking forward to our next date."

In spite of the cheesy action Maka felt herself smile. Turning away with a small shake of her head she found herself face to face with the real reason she had come here. Blood red eyes glared at her from a shock of pale hair. Blinking rapidly she felt her mouth go dry and her voice turn into nothing more than a slight hiss.

"Well?" Soul asked. His tone was not as bitter as his face would have made him seen. Instead it was layered with boredom tinged with annoyance.

Maka swallowed hard. "Sorry. I just…"

When she trailed off Soul rolled his eyes. "What do you want, a picture?" She shook her head. "An Autograph?" She shook her head again, lips tight as she felt a swelling in her chest. She just couldn't say it, but she had to. Somehow. She tried to suck in another breath but found it nearly impossible to breath. Hands curling into fists she stood rooted to the spot until finally Soul let out a sigh. "If you don't want anything you can just leave, you know?"

Hot, wet tears began to blur Maka's vision as she nodded hastily before turning away. Walking quickly she wiped her hand across her face, trying to stop the rivets of water already beginning to run down her pale cheeks. Eyes blurry she worked her way out of the hall and into a lonely corridor. Leaning against the wall she used her sleeve to attempt to dry her face, through the tears kept coming. She had blown it. Her one chance. She had lost her once chance to understand why she was the way she was. The chance to figure out why she was so different from everyone else. Just because she was too afraid to speak up.

Every tear sent a fresh wave of white hot pangs of shame through her chest. She hated this. This hated crying. She never cried. Stupid rude boys and their stupid words did not make her cry. She was not that weak.

"Maka?"

Lifting up her head Maka found a pair of worried blue eyes. Sniffling, she looked back down at the ground. "Sorry. I'm probably not supposed to be here, am I?"

"Oh no, it's fine." Tsubaki said lightly, reaching out touching the younger girl on the arm. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

"I'm fine." She said softly, finally able to ebb the tide of tears and wipe her face dry. "Sorry."

Tsubaki gave her a comforting smile. "I'm very sorry about Soul, he can be a little… rough around the edges, but really deep down he's a good guy. I think everything just kind of overwhelms him. He's really not such a… a…"

"Jackass?" Maka said.

Tsubaki let out a tinkling laugh. "That's not a bad way to put it. But honestly, I don't think he wanted to make you cry."

Maka bristled slightly. "I wasn't crying because of him."

"Oh?"

"I wasn't." Maka repeated, though she could tell Tsubaki didn't believe her. "Well I mean I was, but it wasn't anything he said. It's just…" After a moment of silence Tsubaki gave her a questioning look, encouraging her to continue. "It's just his eyes."

"Ah." Tsubaki nodded. "Well, they are different."

"No you don't understand." Maka shook her head, feeling the weight of her words lying just on the tip of her tongue. With a slight hitch in her breath the weight became too much and everything came tumbling out. Her black and white vision. Her dull existence. Seeing him in the coffee shop. How she had wanted to tell him. To ask him. By the end her eyes were once again leaking salty tears as she finished with a lame "and I just couldn't do it."

"Oh Maka." Tsubaki shook her head before pulling the girl into a tight hug. "I am so sorry. Look, if you want I will take you to Soul right now. I'm sure if you explained everything he would understand."

Maka shook her head that was already developing a staggering headache from the stressful night. "I think… I think I just want to go home."

Tsubaki nodded. "Okay, I'll help you get out of here."

Maka nodded, allowing herself to be lead by the young woman through the maze of hallways and back to the front of the building. Upon finding Maka meant to take the bus home Tsubaki waved her off and ordered one of the waiting taxicabs to take her back to her apartment. Despite the blonde girls protests she was quickly coerced into the back seat as Tsubaki paid for her to be sent home. With a quick farewell Maka was soon on her way as Tsubaki slowly marched her was back into the music hall.

She needed to have a talk with a certain red-eyed client of hers.

* * *

As always I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review.

I will be trying to keep a steady update schedule as I get back into the swing of writing Soul Eater again, but no promises.


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